Canada #597iii (SG#705p) 25c Polar Bears 1972-1978 Caricature Issue W2B Tagging, Ribbed Paper/Ink Type 9 Blank UR VF-84 NH

A well centered and very fine mint NH blank upper right corner block of the 25c multicoloured polar bears definitive from the 1972-1977 Caricature and Landscapes Issue, with Winnipeg 2 bar tagging, on low fluorescent paper. Comb perf. 12.5 x 12. Horizontal wove paper with vertically ribbed chalk surfacing. Smooth creamy PVA gum with a satin sheen. Under ultraviolet light, the paper gives the following readings:

Unitrade lists this stamp as being on DF paper, but this is a gross over-simplification, as the above description shows. There are at least nine different varieties of the Winnipeg tagged stamp on vertically ribbed paper, of which this is one of the scarcest ones. Unitrade lists this paper on the 15c (595xi), but not this value, or the 10c, which is odd, as it exists on all four values. Unitrade lists a common VF-75 NH block at $12.50, and the LF paper on 595xi at $60, which we feel is closer to the mark on this. The block offered here grades VF-84 NH as follows: Margins/centering: 54/70 Paper freshness: 5/5 Colour: 5/5 Impression: 5/5 Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5 Perforations: 10/10 Note any vertical or horizontal line shown in the scan is the edge of the acetate strip that the stamp was resting inside on the stockcard. Note: the above scan is a stock photo as are all my scans for material after 1952. The item(s) you will receive has (have) been carefully checked to adhere to the above grading standards, so while it (they) may not be exactly the same, it (they) will be of the same quality. Also, I do not provide back scans of NH stamps or blocks after 1952 unless they are required to illustrate some attribute of the paper or gum.